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Men's Basketball Falls to #13 Catholic, 86-70

Men's Basketball Falls to #13 Catholic, 86-70

WASHINGTON, D.C. --- The 13th–ranked Catholic University of America men's basketball team finished of the 2012-13 regular season with an 86-70 victory over visiting Moravian College Saturday night.

Tip-off for the game was nearly two and a half hours after the scheduled 6:00 p.m. start since the Greyhounds had transportation issues making the trip to Washington, D.C,. and the women's game of the doubleheader going into overtime. The Cardinals, the top seed for the upcoming Landmark Conference Tournament, improve to 22-3 overall and 12-2 in conference action while the Greyhounds finish the regular season at 14-11 overall and 6-8 in Landmark play.

Moravian scored first on a three-pointer by senior guard Garrett Johnson. Catholic's first basket was a lay-up from sophomore guard/forward Steve Limberiou at 18:10, and the Cardinals led 6-3 after a lay-up from freshman guard Bryson Fonville at 16:13.  Johnson gave the Greyhounds a 7-6 lead with a lay-up at 15:28 before Catholic moved in front 11-7 on a free throw by senior guard Shawn Holmes with 14:32 left in the first half.

Fonville gave the Cardinals a 16-12 lead after a lay-up, and a three-point play from Fonville with just over nine minutes left in the first half put Catholic up 24-18.  Moravian put together an 8-2 run to pull within two points, 26-24 on a three-pointer from senior guard D.J. Strayhorn with 7:38 before the intermission.

Senior guard/forward Nate Koenig hit a three-pointer to give the Cardinals a 33-27 advantage with just over five minutes before halftime but the Greyhounds closed within two points again, 35-33, on a three-pointer from freshman guard Jarrod Dilts with 3:54 on the clock. Holmes put Catholic up by seven points, 40-33 with 1:42 showing on the scoreboard but Moravian closed within three-points, 40-37, on a lay-up by sophomore guard Izel Dickerson.

The Cardinals scored the final five points of the first half with Holmes hitting a three-pointer just before the horn sounded to send Catholic to the locker room with a 45-37 lead.

Moravian connected on 12-of-29 field goal attempts (41.3 percent), six-of-17 three-pointers and seven-of-eight free throws in the opening 20 minutes. The Greyhounds had a 23-15 edge on the boards in the first half, but Moravian made 12 turnovers in the first half while Catholic had just two turnovers. Catholic was 19-for-34 from the field (55.9 percent), four-for-ten on three-pointers and three-for-ten at the foul line to start the game.

Catholic opened the second half with a lay-up from senior forward/center Chris Kearney just nine seconds into the half while Strayhorn scored the Greyhounds first points of the half just ten seconds later. Moravian pulled within six points, 49-43 on a jumper by junior center Cameron Cullen at the 18:06 mark but the Cardinals pushed the lead back to ten points, 53-43, on a pair of Koenig free throws with 16:56 to play.

Koenig had a three-point play, and he followed it up with a jumper to put Catholic ahead 58-45 with just under 15 minutes left in the game. Strayhorn had a rare four-point play after making a three-pointer with 12:29 remaining. After the made free throw, Moravian trailed 62-51. Kearney hit a pair of lay-ups to put the Cardinals back ahead by 15 points, 66-51, with just over 11 minutes to play. Catholic would keep its lead in double figures for the rest of the contest.

Moravian connected on ten-of-22 field goal attempts (45.5 percent), three-of-eight three-pointers and ten-of-15 free throws in the second half, and the Greyhounds finished the game with a 37-31 edge in rebounds. However, Moravian committed 21 turnovers in the contest while the Cardinals had just seven turnovers. Catholic made 14-of-31 shots from the floor (45.2 percent) and a perfect 13-for-13 at the foul line in the final 20 minutes of action.

The Greyhounds had three players in double figures with Johnson netting 18 points and grabbing a career high 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the month, and Johnson added dive assists in the game. Strayhorn also netted 18 points, and he added three assists while Dickerson contributed ten points, four rebounds and four assists. Cullen finished with nine boards and eight points while senior Mike Weinert finished with six points and three rebounds for Moravian.

Catholic had four starters in double figures with Kearney netting a game high 19 points. Koenig finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and four assists while Holmes tossed in 18 points to go with four steals. Fonville added 16 points, six assists and three rebounds while Limberiou had nine points, six rebounds and three assists for the Cardinals.

The Greyhounds will now wait until Monday, February 25th to see if they have qualified for the 2013 ECAC Division III South Tournament that begins on Wednesday, February 27th.